While a variety of boats have been crafted to successfully navigate the water, the ubiquitous sailboat remains ever-present and useful to this day as they were when they were first crafted many years ago. As such, it is common to see sailboats in oceans and waterways the world over, sailing along side motorboats, jet skis, and cruise liners. In some parts of the world, such as Annapolis, Md., USA, the sailing capital of the world, sailing shows and races are a prevalent cultural phenomenon that is celebrated each year. In other parts of the world, recreational sailing is becoming more popular, leading to an increased demand for sailboats, as well as customization options for sailboats to help distinguish a specific owner's boat from the crowd.
In the past, sailors could paint their sails, but this can affect performance and flexibility of the sail, and is not prudent in a competitive atmosphere. Some sails are equipped with a mesh overlay that, when combined with the backdrop of the sail, form an image, however this often results in poor image definition. Sewn-on patches, adhesive vinyl, and laminates are options for visually modifying a sail, but they conventionally damage the sail, add weight, effectively changing the characteristics and performance of the sail. Additionally, these are often limited to lettering only of a few colors.
While it is presently possible to print an image directly onto a sail, the process requires use of a special, laminate-like material as a sail. In order to have an image printed onto a functioning sail presently, a customer must purchase a whole new sail constructed of this specialized material which is prohibitive in cost. Additionally, this laminate-like material is not as effective as conventional sails constructed out of conventional materials, such as those designed to efficiently propel the sailboat or other sail-powered craft. As such, these sails are rarely employed outside of an advertising context.
Thus, there is a need for a process and system to print images onto sails of water craft, as well as to wind-powered aircraft, that is capable of printing on sea-worthy sails of sailboats, rather than requiring customers to employ sub-standard, relatively ineffective laminate sail for the sailboat in order to have a custom image inlaid or printed on the sails. Such a process would preferably be able to print directly onto the originally manufactured sail, composed of conventional sail materials, without the need for new materials or a mesh image screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,483, granted to Aaron Kiss on May 3, 2005 is for a ‘sail and manufacture thereof’ including image printing process titled PhotoSails. PhotoSails necessitates a heavy, expensive, and clumsy laminate sail, which is not utilized by the general industry because its use requires great compromises in terms of weight and performance, as well as being cost prohibitive. It is conventionally exclusively relegated to advertising, often employing glossy images on display to the show lines of events, where performance compromise in elements such as speed or agility are not issues. The manufacturing process taught by Kiss requires the customer to purchase an entirely new sail for his or her water craft that not as effective as industry standard sail manufacturing materials and mediums. In effect, the laminate material employed to fabricate and display the images taught by Kiss is not considered to be an authentic, usable sail. PhotoSails were not designed for effective or competitive sailing, and were primarily used for advertising in calm water.